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Bill McMichael wasn't surprised to hear that papers had been filed in Jefferson County seeking permission to open a business in Bessemer that uses the name "Whistle Stop."

There are at least half a dozen restaurants around the country using the name.

But, Whistle Stop Cafe is a registered trademark that belongs to McMichael. It's also the name of the Irondale restaurant that his parents owned for nearly three decades, and on which writer and Birmingham native Fannie Flagg based her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the WhistleStop Cafe.

McMichael's parents sold the restaurant two years ago, but he owns and operates Good Home Cooking Products Inc. in Irondale, which does business as Whistle Stop Products. The company manufactures and sells batter mixes, sauces and other products that grew out of the Whistle Stop Cafe to grocery stores in more than 40 states.

McMichael is aware of at least three restaurants using the name: In Julietta, Ga., where the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" was filmed; an ice cream parlor in Ashland, Va.; and he's heard there's one in Atlanta.

Internet hits

An Internet search shows there are also Whistle Stop Cafes in Pemberton, Wis.; Davie, Fla.; at the base of the No. 6 lift at the Taos Ski Resort in Taos Ski Valley, N.M.; in North Wales; and in Cople, a village about 50 miles north of London.

"It seems like they all want to use the name," McMichael says.

But they're not supposed to.

And here's a variation on the theme: the Whistle Stop Depot, owned by Arlene Crifasi. The Bessemer business, at 3 19th St. N., which sells small antiques and second-hand clothes, is so named because of its proximity to railroad tracks.

Crifasi hopes to open her shop in early December.

McMichael spent several years and thousands of dollars going through the process necessary to make the Whistle Stop Cafe name first a trademark and then a registered trademark, which means no one can use the name without his permission.

When McMichael learns that other businesses are using the name, he is required to mail official letters to their owners.

"The letters are worded very politely," he says. "It says the name is a registered trademark and that there may come a time when they would have to give it up. I'm not trying to shut anyone down. But I have to protect my business."

He says beyond that, there's not much he can do – unless there's an economic impact to his business. Then he can take legal action.

McMichael says the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Ashland called him several years ago seeking permission to use the name. McMichael agreed, but the Virginian had to acknowledge the name was registered and agree to stop using it if McMichael's business expanded to Ashland.

McMichael says if restaurants in other states operate under the name, it doesn't necessarily pose a serious threat – unless they use the WhistleStop Cafe logo or the same layout as the Irondale restaurant. He says he's not aware of any food product companies using the name.

"In that case, we would have to take immediate action," he says.

A legitimate expansion

Of course, the WhistleStop Cafe in Irondale has permission to use the name, and that permission would likely carry to any additional locations opened by current owner Jim Dolan.

Dolan says he is considering a second location and may begin scouting for sites this summer. He says he'll probably confine his search to the Birmingham area.

Before it was the WhistleStop Cafe, the restaurant was known as the Irondale Cafe, which first opened in 1928 as a hot dog stand. Signage on the storefront refers to both names, and many locals continue to call the restaurant Irondale Cafe.

Bess Fortenberry, Flagg's great-aunt, bought the business in 1932 and soon had a small but thriving restaurant that offered "down-home cooking" and take-out sandwiches.

Nearby were railroad tracks that carried freight and passenger trains. Small towns like Irondale were often described as "whistle stops," where trains might stop, if the flag was up, to pick up passengers, but the towns were not considered destination points.

McMichael's parents, Billy and Mary Jo McMichael, purchased the restaurant from Fortenberry in 1972 and enlarged the cafe from 32 seats to 260.

The restaurant was the setting for Flagg's 1991 novel about a housewife unhappy with her life who befriends an elderly woman in a nursing home and is intrigued by the tales of people she used to know.

Shortly afterward, the restaurant became known as the Whistle Stop Cafe, and in 1992 the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" was released. Bill McMichael began the registered trademark process in 1993.

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